


On Your AM Radio

by BrutalPipeMurder



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, I have wavering confidence in this, M/M, Touch Tone Telephone based, i don't even know man, songfic-ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28651641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrutalPipeMurder/pseuds/BrutalPipeMurder
Summary: ahahahahahaha touch tone telephone au jonmartin.
Relationships: Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley, Jonathan "Jon" Sims/Martin Blackwood
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	On Your AM Radio

**Author's Note:**

> look. i may not really be in the tma fandom anymore but like. ive had this in my docs for so long and i low key think its kinda cool. if yall want me to actually continue this i will. thank you!

“Now, for this one, it is entirely possible that the person who submitted this could be hallucinating, no offence to the person, if they happen to be listening,” the smooth voice rang out through Martin’s room as he calmly wrote his poetry. He had finished all of his studying and working for the night and was now just writing and listening. He could handle the sleep deprivation, he’s been doing it for months now. “I have done extensive research, within the legal limits, of course, and to me, it seems to be that way. It may just be due to their hasty explanation or their odd word choice. Ah, speaking of the legal limits.”

Martin giggled to himself, preparing for the funniest part of the radio segments. Everyone in the, surprisingly large (despite it only being broadcasted on campus. Everyone knows someone’s leaking the broadcasts online but no one will come forward), fanbase agreed that it was rather hilarious to hear in The Archivist’s monotone. The Archivist being what they called him. No one really knew his name, despite him definitely going to their college, so they had to think of a nickname and that’s what they had come up with. 

“Ahem, 'The Magnus Radio team would like to make it clear that our research team works entirely within legal limits, there are no unlawful acts involved in our research, including, but not limited to: hacking, trespassing, breaking and entering or flirting with police officers. Thank you for listening to our show tonight.'” The Archivist read out blandly, his voice filled with obvious distaste. The radio show was required to read that out each broadcast, The Archivist stating that they’d lose their spot if they didn’t read it out. The man hunched over his desk and laughed tiredly. It was always funny to hear in the deadpan, even if Martin was tired from his shift. “Either way, unlawful or not, our team would like to thank you for tuning in this morning. Good day to you all, statement ends.” 

And it was over. The best part of his day over. Not to sound overdramatic, of course. It was just that he never really had anything to do that was fun. Sure, he hung out with Daisy, Basira and Melanie sometimes but they didn’t exactly have a regular meeting schedule. Plus his classes were always boring. What in his mind convinced him English with a minor in Parapsychology would be a good idea? Martin let out a sigh and checked the time. 3:45am. The price he pays for this stupid Archivist and his am radio. He could take a nap, he had the time. And thus, it was decreed. The man stood up and flopped onto his bed, setting a timer on his phone and taking off his glasses before dozing off.

…

And 3 hours later, he startled awake at the sound of his alarm. “W-what…?” Oh, yeah. School. He made a face and stretched, yawning. Grabbing his phone, he quickly moved across his room to his drawers, searching for his phone. He checked his texts quickly, not surprisingly finding nothing. But in his Twitter, there were a bunch of messages in the group chat. The group chat was mostly for fans of The Magnus Radio, as they all thought it would be something nice to bond over. Martin didn’t speak up often, but most of them liked him. 

A lot of the messages were along the lines of ‘lmao the archivist fuckin teared into that one last night, huh?’ while a couple were similar to ‘what’s everyone's classes?’ Martin sent a quick ‘good morning’ to the chat and a couple people greeted back, some by name, some just generally. 

It was all normal until one person (who he believed to be Oliver Banks, a biology student that he never really liked) asked ‘have you ever submitted a statement?’ Martin’s eyes widened just a little bit. No one really had asked that before. With a hesitant ‘no’ response, he continued to look for clothes. A couple people were surprised that there was a person in the chat that hadn’t submitted anything while others weren’t really surprised. It’s not that he had never had an experience that was… unnatural, but he couldn’t bring himself to send something to get ripped apart live on air. He was too anxious for that. Either way, Martin turned his phone off and shuffled into his new clothes.

It was a rather boring day for him after that. He walked through his classes in a tired haze, taking vague notes in handwriting far too messy for anyone to read but himself. It was why no one really asked him for help, he was rather unorganised despite the fact he was actually doing quite well in his classes. 

He was walking across campus, about to go get some lunch when he bumped into someone. Before he even saw their face, he began his string of apologies. “Oh! I’m so so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and-”

Martin was cut off by the sound of a quiet laugh. It wasn’t rude or demeaning nor was it forced or harsh. It was just soft and amused. He slowly peeked up through his fluffy hair and saw a woman. She was dressed in a white blouse and a knee length navy skirt with boots on. Round-rimmed glasses sat on her face and when she smiled at him, he noticed subtle dimples. “It’s no worries!” She smiled, quickly glancing at the books in her arms. Nothing was out of place.

“I- uh I’m Martin! Sorry for… y’know, bumping into you…” He murmurs, looking at his feet. Despite being told it was okay, he still felt bad. He could’ve knocked her over! He held out his hand for a shake awkwardly, moving all of his books to one arm. Shh, he hadn’t put them in his bag yet.

She snickered to herself, shaking Martin’s hand. Her hand was soft, he noted mentally, but very cold. “I’m Sasha. And really, it’s fine. I wasn’t really looking where I was going either, to be honest,” she grinned, retracting her hand from his and rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. They both stood there awkwardly for a second, Martin moving to keep walking before he was stopped by Sasha speaking up again. “Hey, want to go get lunch together? I mean, if we’re going to talk, we might as well be friends.”

Martin’s face brightened. He didn’t really have many friends, only the three that talked to him every now and then. They usually got together on Friday nights to hang out but Basira and Daisy were always busy with training and Melanie had so many things to work out for her internet show she was working on. “I’d like that!” He grinned back, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses. 

The two idly chatted while they walked to the cafe. Martin had learned that Sasha was studying library sciences and she worked at a bookstore part-time. She learnt about his majors and his part time job at a 24 hour cafe. It was kind of nice to have someone new to talk to. They had been talking for almost hours and had already exchanged numbers. 

“What shift do you take?” She asked casually, stirring her new coffee. They had dropped by a cafe close to campus for lunch. Martin had got himself a tea and a small apple pie while Sasha got a coffee and a sandwich. 

He perked up at the question, nervously chuckling. “Oh. I work 9-2. The owners know I have class so they give me some of the shorter shifts,” he replied nervously, scratching the back of his neck. People were always really surprised whenever he mentioned that he takes the early shifts. It wasn’t his or the owners’ fault! There weren’t many other openings that worked for his schedule and he needed the money.

Sasha’s eyebrows raised slightly. “Really? Do you pass out right after? I know I pass out if I stay up too long,” she took a sip of her coffee, making a face at the burning liquid’s bitter taste. Despite her words, she looked rather tired. Martin chuckled in response.

“Not usually. I listen to the radio and write usually. I don’t go to sleep until around 3.” A ping could be heard coming from Sasha’s phone and she checked it quickly, letting out a snort. Another text tone and she made a face. 

“Gimme a sec, I need to answer this,” she hastily muttered, answering the call in a slightly hushed tone. “What is it, Tim? I’m having a lovely conversation with a new friend.” Martin’s heart swelled at being called a friend, his smile widening just a bit. “What did Jon do??? What do you mean he drank triple shot coffee and is now sleeping under my couch???? How did he get under there???” 

The man across from her was hit with multiple questions and a large wave of confusion. Who was Tim? Who was Jon? Why is Jon under Sasha’s couch? Why did he drink that coffee? Why was he in Sasha’s place anyways?? He just gave Sasha an utterly lost look and when she caught his eye, she let out a quiet snort, giggling to herself. “Just… try to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Maybe get Gerry to try and get him out?” wHO’S GERRY?? Oh wait, he knew that one. Gerry was Gerard. Michael’s boyfriend. How did Sasha know him?

He only knew Michael because of how close he was to their English professor Ms Robinson. Personally, Martin was too scared to talk to her himself. Maybe it was just her face. She seemed just too mildly homophobic for his tastes. But honestly, who knows at this point. She’s so ambiguously rude that it was hard to tell what was sarcasm and what wasn’t. Either way, Michael’s boyfriend, Gerry, was… intimidating, but he was nice. 

“Oh, he’s coming ou-? Ah, hi, Jon. Yes, I did the research. I emailed it to you. You need to take a nap. Yes, now. Do I have to send Gerry? Pftt-!” Sasha looked very amused as Martin could hear a loud voice on the other side of the phone yelling things. “I know he intimidates you, that’s why I’m going to do it. Oh, you gonna take a nap now? Scared of Gerry? You little baby?” 

Was.... was Sasha bullying Jon into napping? This is simultaneously the most concerning and hilarious conversation he’s heard and he can only hear one side. He was struggling to keep in his laughter. 

“Don’t laugh, Martin, I need to bully Jon. Huh, you little baby? You gonna cry?” Sasha also looked like she was about to burst out laughing but held it in. A loud yelling came from the other side and Sasha was holding in her laughter to the point of tears. Silent drops of water streamed down her face as her shoulders shook. Martin was slightly hunched over, his shoulders shaking in mirth as well. “Martin is my new best friend. You’ve been replaced. No, Tim doesn’t count, he’s the ultimate friend.”

There is some muffled groaning from the other side of the call. This Jon character certainly seems… interesting, to say the least. A lot more interesting than his personality for sure. The corner of Martin’s lips twitched down for a moment. Did he take his pills this morning? He can’t remember. He must have, right? He glanced back up at Sasha to see her giving him a slightly concerned expression. 

Nervously, he shook his head and just gave her a disarming smile. That usually threw people off the scent. She smiled back, if a bit hesitant. He looked away sheepishly. What should he do? She seemed to be having this call for a while. Should he go? 

He was starting to get nervous.

Anxiously, he started to write on his hand with a pen he kept in his pocket. 

‘Should I go?’

Sasha scanned the message and looked a bit surprised for a moment. She frowned and spoke a bit more carefully across the line. “Hey, Jon, I’m actually at lunch with someone, can I go back to eating now?” She asked. Martin’s shoulders deflated slightly as he let out a silent sigh of relief. So she did actually want to eat. There was more muffled talking across the line. “Yes, yes, I’m aware. Can I go now? Thank you. Yes. I emailed them to you. Have a good nap, Jon.”

She hung up and the two of them just stared at each other for a bit, Martin nervously tapping on the pen-inked skin on his palm. Then Sasha giggled. 

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just… you heard me bully my friend into sleeping and you’re just… acting so normal about it,” she laughed quietly. In the most platonic way possible, her laugh was really nice. Like bells. He chuckled a little bit too, trying to pull himself out of his anxiety shell.

“Yeah… anyways! Uhm, do you have any hobbies?”


End file.
